Reflection, Harmony, and Happiness.. or is it Peace, Love, and Rock n' Roll...

I was reading a friend's blog and she presented the question "What makes you happy?" I could probably write a discourse on what brings me true happiness and joy, having ridden a bumpy life through my teenage years trying to figure this out. Of course, anyone who knows me now would know that I find true happiness through God and my family, which to me are so closely intertwined they are almost one and the same. But aside from my family and my religion bringing me joy... there are some things that just make me Happy. I could list a hundred things but how about my top ten?
10. I love looking up at the night sky - not the city night sky, because you can't see the stars, but most of Rexburg is okay, the further out of a town you get, the more you can see and the happier it makes me. I love seeing the stars twinkling and all the different stages of the moon. It is just so much bigger than me and reminds me that there is something out there bigger than us all. There has to be. You can just feel it when you look out there.
9. I love to walk with my kids. But only when they are in the stroller. Double joggers, yeah!! I love the fresh air and the exercise. My kids love it too, which makes me happy. (PS walks with kids not in the stroller are okay, but don't make the top ten, because I constantly have to be reminding Rhett to stay where I can see him, not to knock on people's doors, and to leave that dang cat alone!)
8. Idaho sunsets are the best. I have seen sunsets all around the world from Australia to Brazil. from the Ukraine to Utah, and Idaho sunsets are my favorite. I love the pink and orange colors that signal the transition from morning to evening, and they can be seen from pretty much wherever you are. Watching an Idaho sunset - definitely in the top ten, but really any sunset will make me happy.
7. Blankets. I love curling up with a blanket. For whatever. Reading a book, watching a movie, just cuddling and talking with my husband. No matter what time of year I like to end my day cuddling up with a blanket around my toes.
6. Dancing. Dance has almost always been a part of my life. I used to do a running leap through the playroom everytime I went to my bedroom (for as long as I can remember, which means all the way through high school). Performing, however, I don't love. But in college I could dance all night long and never get bored. I miss that. Now I just do silly dances for my kids, but I still leap through rooms from time to time.

It's funny that most of the times I remember being most happy are also the times I remember feeling most at peace. These next things are rare occasions that don't happen much, but they are still things that make me happy.

5. In the winter in Hawaii the waves are huge and the ocean isn't really a place to swim, but a place to watch (at least for us non-natives). I loved going out and sitting on the beach and watching these awesome waves crashing down on some poor rock. I guess I just really like moments that remind me there is some power out there bigger than us all that created these awesome forces of nature. It is beautiful and awe inspiring. Sometimes when I am sitting on my front porch I think about that.
4. Sitting on my front porch, watching the neighborhood kids play and reminiscing.
3. Another Hawaii moment. We used to go camping on the "West side" and in the morning (I think sunrise in Hawaii is prettier than the sunset) we would get up and go swimming with the dolphins. Really dolphins. Swimming right by us. Jumping around us, swimming with their families. I dreamt about that for months after I left Hawaii, and it always made me wake up happy.
2. I use to LOVE going snowboarding all day. Working my body until it was exhausted and then taking the last chair lift up the mountain. My friend and I would sit at the top of the mountain, until everyone was gone and it was just me, her, and the mountain. I love the fresh crisp mountain air, the snow covered trees, and the view of patchwork farm lands below. I still remember the stillness of the air, the smell of fresh mountain air, and the sting of it on your cheeks. We would then quietly take our last run down the mountain with just the sound of our boards cutting through the snow and head for home. Those memories are SO vivid in my mind and I miss them so much it hurts a little.
1. I used to hike up in the mountains with a book and a journal. I would then find a big rock or tree stump and read and write. Usually it was my scriptures. I find nature to be an incredibly spiritual place. I think "communing" with nature is "communing" with God. I think it is easier to feel God, or at least his Power or Spirit, in one of his biggest and most beautiful creations. I just feel so at harmony with my life when I spend time with my spiritual side in nature. And really I can even do it in the backyard under a tree, whatever gives me the feeling of His awesome power and that force that I keep talking about that is so much bigger than the little bit of life that I can comprehend. Like I said it creates harmony for me and makes me happy.
So that's my top ten happy moments. Some I experience a lot, some I wish I experienced more, and some are moments that I experience again and again through my memories and they never fail to make me happy. So I pass the question along, What makes you happy?
Peace and Love - i'm out.

A little of this and a little of that

In honor of President's Day, or more truthfully to celebrate Jenna and Chase being in town, we decided to do a family snowmachining day. We took Rhett, Bree, Jenna, Chase, Quinn, and Mitch to the sand dunes. Look how adorable Bree looks in her little beanie!!

She was so happy to be involved.

Until we got outside. Then she went comatose on us. She just curled up on Jenna's shoulder and went to sleep. It was her nap time, and she slept on and off, but even when she was awake she didn't make a peep for the entire 3 hours we were sledding.

She pulled the coma on us once before... The first time we took her swimming at Green Canyon. As soon as she hit the water, she curled up on my shoulder and wouldn't lift her head or smile or cry or anything for about a half an hour. Finally she decided she wanted to try one of the floaty devices we had and splashed around and jumped into the pool and had fun for the second half. If I wouldn't have had this first coma experience to look back on, I probably would have thought she went into hypothermic shock and spent the whole time in the car with her.

And here's the happy fam. Rhett had a blast! He was all over the place. He loved riding the snowmobile and getting off and sledding down the hill with me. He even went down a couple by himself!! Which I was grateful for, because the last time he went sledding down a hill by himself he somehow ran into cement (I don't know I wasn't there, if I was I'm sure it wouldn't have happened - Heath and Mitch). He still has a slight scar on his face from it. The kid was tireless and it made me so happy to watch him have so much fun. I also REALLY appreciated Jenna sitting on the snow or sled or whatever pretty much the whole time holding Bree for me. Sometimes I really don't think I'm cut out for this mommy job. I have a hard time standing back with the little kids instead of being out there in the middle of the fun. I'm pretty sure when we go to Lagoon and stuff that I'll make Heath sit out on the rollercoaster rides with the baby while I get my thrills. Otherwise our marriage just might not work. HA HA Just kidding. But he would have to sleep on the couch for a couple nights...

The pictures aren't real high quality because they are taken with my phone, but I decided as long as I was downloading them to stick all the good ones in this post.

Here's Bree the day after I bought curlers!!!! She pulled a "no doing my hair" strike on me and would pull everything out as soon as I put it in, over and over and over, until I gave up. One of my ideas was to just curl it and let it be, but lo and behold... She likes curlers and always lets me do her hair after having them in... go figure...

Here's her hair during the hair strike. Very boy like. But check out the cute little mittens!

"MOM, stop taking pictures of me!!"

For some reason she loves putting my boots on even though they are as tall as her legs and she really can't walk in them at all.

Funny girl.

On to the Rhett-ster. We got to tour the Fire Station for our playgroup. Rhett was in heaven, he was so interested in everything. They let them walk through the ambulance and sit in the firetrucks. The kids loved it!

Rhett got scared to get down from the fire truck. He was creating quite the pile up and he wouldn't move until Mike, our Chief of Emergency Services, and family friend (aka the guy we go to whenever Rhett gets hurt to see if we need to take him to the hospital...Lindsay - you remember him, right?) helped him down.

The whole group. That was pretty nice of our local emergency workers to let this many kids, mostly under age three, invade their place of business. They were all so excited, it totally made their day. Give a shout to firefighters/EMT's!

And that is the conclusion of the pictures off of Trish's phone.